Conditions are looking good at many southern hemisphere ski areas as the start of the 2015 season nears.
In New Zealand the latest southerly storm has given Queenstown's Coronet Peak and The Remarkables (Pictured above) the best possible start to winter with up to half a metre of snow blanketing both ski areas. This follows other May storms which have brought up to 1.5m of snow to some NZ areas.
Staff at Coronet Peak and The Remarkables found themselves knee-deep in fresh powder this morning. Opening dates are less than three weeks away on June 13 for Coronet Peak and June 20 for The Remarkables.
"This sets us up for a great start to the 2015 season," he said. "We've got our groomers out working to pack down the snow on piste and we can continue to make more snow on top of this fantastic natural base. This early-season fall will give visitors confidence to book their ski holiday for the coming season," said operator NZSki's CEO Paul Anderson.
The cold snap is expected to deliver further snow flurries to Queenstown throughout today (Monday May 25) and into tomorrow. The forecast is for continued cold temperatures through until at least Wednesday, providing perfect conditions for snowmaking at Coronet Peak.
Elsewhere in the southern hemisphere there have been promising pre-season snowfalls in Australia too, although much of the early snow has subsequently melted. Australian areas traditionally open on the first weekend of June regardless of snow conditions. Webcam images have shown resorts currently making snow.
It's a similar scenario in southern Africa where Afriski in Lesotho and Tiffindell in Southern Africa are often the first ion the southern hemisphere to open, sometimes in the last week of May. There's no snow reported at either centre at present but Afriski says it will open a week on Thursday, June 4th.
Resorts in South America normally open in the latter half of June, although they will in some cases open earlier if snow is good. So far limited snowfall has been reported although some forecasters are predicting that the same Pacific weather system that has left the North American west coast warm and dry for the past for winter should bring abundant snow to the same region south of the equator.